Insulate Britain activist loses appeal against jail sentence

A climate protester who was jailed for spraying Insulate Britain on a court building has had her appeal dismissed.

Brighton tutor Venetia Carter had already been released from prison after serving a week of her 14-day sentence for spraying the washable paint on Crawley Magistrates Court in April.

She decided to launch the appeal as a point of principle, believing that two weeks in prison for minor criminal damage in the context of a protest was an excessive punishment.

But this week, a court dismissed her appeal, saying it agreed with the original judge that her actions were an attack on the judicial system.

Chloe Gardner, representing Carter, said she had sprayed the slogan on 4 April following a first appearance on charges of obstructing the highway during an Insulate Britain protest.

She said: “Miss Carter says the intention behind the words was to first of all alert the pubic that criminal charges were being taken against peaceful protest by Insulate Britain.

It was not to do with the judiciary it was to do with the government, the CPS and police. It was a message to raise public awareness of how the government were dealing with protest laws, not a message directed at all against the independent judiciary.”

Ms Gardner said district judge Amanda Kelly was presiding that day – and was also the judge who sent her to prison for criminal damage a month later.

She raised the case of Charlie Turner, who appeared before district judge Kelly for criminal damage in March, for spray painting anti-Israel slogans on an office building in Brighton.

He pleaded not guilty, and district judge Kelly found him guilty – but gave him a conditional discharge and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £22.

However, Judge Christine Laing, who sat with a magistrate to hear the appeal at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday, said this was not relevant.

She said: “We are not here to judge Judge Kelly. She’s an experienced district judge. We are here to review the sentence passed.”

Ms Gardner again said Carter’s spray painted words were not aimed at the judiciary and, quoting district judge Kelly’s sentencing remarks, she said: “It was absolutely not ‘sticking up two fingers at the rule of law’.”

Justice Laing replied: “There’s a lot of other buildings in Crawley where it could have been done – I’m not encouraging that one iota.

“By doing it on a court building is that not trying to bring the judicial system into an argument it should have nothing to do with?”